Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
  • H04W4/12—Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
  • H04M15/07—Split billing, i.e. both A-party and B-party charged for the communication
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M15/00—Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP
  • H04M15/09—Third party charged communications
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
  • H04W4/24—Accounting or billing
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/20—Technology dependant metering
  • H04M2215/2026—Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/28—SMS billing
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/32—Involving wireless systems
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/64—Split billing, sharing the cost of calls, e.g. between calling and called parties
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/66—Third party billing, i.e. third party can also be the predetermined telephone line of the caller if he is calling from another telephone set
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04M2215/00—Metering arrangements; Time controlling arrangements; Time indicating arrangements
  • H04M2215/68—Billing calls completely to the calling party, except POTS, e.g. charge on caller's choice service
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
  • H04W4/06—Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
  • H04W4/08—User group management
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
  • H04W88/00—Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices
  • H04W88/18—Service support devices; Network management devices
  • H04W88/184—Messaging devices, e.g. message centre

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method, according to the preamble of Claim 1, for implementing a message service with the aid of a telephone network.
• Methods of this kind are used in connection with message services, in which one message sent with the aid of a telephone network is transmitted to several recipients.
• these services are provided for mobile communications customers.
• a mobile telephone in a GSM network can be used to send group messages to several recipients, with the aid of a service provided by the telecommunications operator.
• a service provided by the telecommunications operator.
• Radiolinja Oy and Sonera Oyj provide such services.
• Sonera Oyj's service a GSM customer can themselves create a text message transmission group, by using certain commands, the group including GSM telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
• the group is defined by sending, to a specific service number, one or several text messages, which contain predefined commands and the network addresses that it is wished to place on the list.
• the GSM customer can send a text message to the aforesaid service number, which begins with a command defining the service (in Sonera's service, 'RT') and continues with an identifier defined for the group. After this information comes the message desired by the customer.
• the system of the telephone network operator receives the sent message and performs the service defined at the start of the message, i.e. transmits the message to the network addresses attached to the group.
• the known solution provides an excellent service for a customer, who wishes to send messages, for example announcements, mainly in one direction, to recipients defined as the members of a relatively small group.
• problems arise if the group is even slightly larger and if a discussion in more than one direction is desired within the group. This is because, in the known solution, each user must define their own group for sending their own messages. If the group participating in the discussion is even slightly larger, the problem arises of updating the transmission lists when the composition of the group changes. In practice, this leads to a situation in which, when a new member joins the group, their address is defined in the transmission lists of only some users. Thus, some of the group's internal messages never reach the new users.
• the transmission lists of several other members of the group are not updated. Thus, the member leaving the group may receive random messages from members of the group for as long as that member's telephone number is valid.
• the invention is intended to create a message service, in which the composition of the group remains unified and in which joining and leaving the group take place more reliably that in the known solution.
• the invention is based on reserving a specific telephone number for each group, which refers to a specific unambiguously defined address group.
• the transmission of messages is arranged to take place through this group-specific telephone number, so that text messages being sent do not need to include separate commands or group identifiers.
• a text message sent to the group number is forwarded to all the addresses of the group, except the address from which the message in question was sent.
• a person joining the group automatically receives all the messages sent to the group subsequent to their joining, as all the messages sent to the group travel through the same group definition.
• the member's telephone number or e-mail address does not remain unnecessarily on the transmission lists of individual members.
• the additional advantage is achieved that the message portion of the text message need not include commands or group identifiers, allowing several more letter characters to be included in the actual message being sent.
• the invention also has many preferred embodiments, by means of which still more advantages are obtained.
• the invention permits, for example, group members to temporarily remove themselves from the transmission list. This may be required, for example, during holidays or when travelling abroad. A group member can then receive normally text messages addressed to them personally, while messages coming through group transmissions, however, do not arrive. Such a temporary removal from a group is not, in practice, possible in the known solution described above. In the known solution, this would require each member of the group to first remove the telephone number from their own transmission list and then, after an interval to define it in the list again. Temporary removal from the group may have, however, a considerable financial significance, if a member of the group spends time abroad. In the state of the art, the group member would have to pay reception charges for receiving the messages, due to their being abroad; even through the content of the messages was such as to be completely irrelevant to someone abroad.
• charging for the message service can be arranged in such a way that:
• Billing can also be implemented as a combination of the above ways, in the manner most suitable to the nature of each group.
• the sending of a message could also entitle to a reduction in service charges. This could be appropriate, for example, in certain notification and hobby groups, such as birdwatchers' bird observation groups.
• a subscriber sending a notification message would be registered for a reduction in the telephone network operator's system and billing for the service would be carried out, for example, as a combination of the above methods 2) and 3).
• This example by itself demonstrates the flexibility of the method and the numerous possibilities relating to the services that can be implemented. In the following, the invention is examined with the aid of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
• Figure 1 shows one possible system environment, in which the method according to the invention can be used.
• Figure 2 shows one possible routine, which can be performed to transmit messages in a manner according to the invention.
• Figure 1 shows terminals 1 and 1', short message service centres 2, and a server 3.
• One of the terminals is marked as the terminal 1' sending the message.
• the terminals 1 are terminals able to receive and record messages in data form.
• the term data form refers to any suitable data transfer and recording form, by means of which text, image, and/or sound-form messages can be transferred to and recorded in the terminal.
• the terminals 1 are principally mobile stations and particularly digital mobile stations, such as GSM, or UMTS-network telephones, or communicators incorporating more functions.
• a computer connected to an information network can also act as a receiving terminal 1.
• the transmitting terminal 1' should also be able to send, and preferably also to form the messages to be sent.
• the transmitting terminal 1' is preferably a digital mobile station, as the messages are mainly sent through the message service of a mobile network.
• the short message service (text message service) of a GSM network is one message service of a mobile network that it highly suitable for the operation of the invention.
• Reception can also take place, for example, as e-mail through the Internet.
• the system environment shown is based on GSM technology and the terminals 1 and l 1 are GSM-network terminals.
• the terminal 1' forms a SMS (Short Message Service) message and sends it to the telephone number of the message group comprising the mobile stations 1 and 1'.
• the SMS message is then transmitted through the GSM network to the short message service centre 2.
• the short message service centre 2 receives the message and forwards it, on the basis of its telephone number, to the server 3.
• the server 3 receives the message and performs a message transmission routine according to the telephone number.
• the server 3 sends SMS messages to the short message service centre 2 (which may be the same centre 2, from which the messages came), to be transmitted to the other telephone numbers (terminals 1) of the message group, except that which sent the original message (terminal 1').
• the content of the original SMS message received from the terminal 1' is copied as the content of the SMS messages to be sent to the terminals 1.
• the server 3 can also be set to make some specified change, or changes to the content of the message. For example, a group of abbreviations could be programmed into the message service, which would be replaced by the server 3 with a corresponding complete equivalent.
• the service could include defined variables, which, when they appeared in a message the server 3 would retrieve a value for the variable, which would be placed in the messages to be transmitted to the terminals 1, in place of the name of the variable. In such embodiments, it is possible to arrive at a situation, in which instead of a single SMS message being sent to the terminals 1, two or more SMS messages would have to be sent.
• Figure 2 shows a flow diagram of one possible method that can be carried out in the server 3, to implement the message service.
• the performance of the method starts in block 21 immediately it is detected that a message, directed to a telephone number managed by the server 3, has been transmitted to the server 3.
• a routine selected according to the destination number of the message is then initiated.
• the method shown in Figure 2 is described stage by stage:
• Block 21 the telephone number of the sender of the message coming to the telephone number of the message group is analysed.
• this telephone number of the sender of the message is termed the A number.
• the A number of the message is compared with a list (the sender group) formed of the numbers of the permitted senders. If the A number is found in the list of permitted senders, i.e. the sender is a member of the sender group, the method is continued to be carried out in Block 22. If, on the other hand, the A number is not permitted, the performance of the method is terminated in Block 27.
• the list of the message group's list of permitted senders i.e.
• the sender group is, in the basic version of the service, formed of the numbers of the members of the message group, so that all the members of the group (and only the members of the group) are permitted to send messages to the group through the service.
• the list of permitted senders can also be freely implemented differently.
• the method can be used to implement, for example, a service, in which a specified first group is entitled to send messages to a specified second group, with the compositions of the first and second groups differing from each other.
• Block 22 the first telephone number of the telephone-number list of the message group is retrieved.
• the destination number of the message is referred to as the B number.
• Block 23 the retrieved B number is compared with the A number. If the B number is the same as the A number, the method moves to Block 25. If, on the other hand, the B number and the A number differ from each other, the method moves to Block 24. This check is intended to prevent the message from being sent back to its sender.
• Block 24 the message is transmitted to the B number and the method moves to Block 25.
• the term transmitting the message refers to the message being sent, and not to its being delivered as far as the receiving terminal 1. This is because in the method it is normally not reasonable to wait for an acknowledgement that the message really has arrived at the receiving terminal 1, as this would delay the sending of the message to the other members of the group.
• the next B number is retrieved from the telephone number list of the message group, after which the method moves to Block 26.
• Block 26 a check is made as to whether all the telephone numbers of the message group have already been processed. This can be done, for example, in such a way that some specific end of transmission character is recorded as the final number in the message group's telephone number list. In that case, a check is made in Block 26, as to whether the B number retrieved corresponds to the end of transmission character, and, if it corresponds, the processing of the list is stated to have finished. If the processing of the list has finished, the method moves to
• Block 28 to terminate the carrying out of the method. If, on the other hand, the processing of the list has not yet finished, the method moves to Block 23.
• the check described in Block 23 in the example can be omitted and the message transmitted back to the original sender too.
• additional operations are added to the transmission of the message, such as the replacement of abbreviations with more complete forms of expression, or the replacement of variables with the values obtained by the variables.
• a method before the message is transmitted, a method must be carried out, which reads the contents of the message and picks out from it defined abbreviations and variables. If abbreviations and variables are detected, equivalents for them are retrieved from a database or a suitable external service. Further, the retrieved equivalents are included in the message, in the location determined by the original abbreviation or variable.
• the telephone number of the message group and not the telephone number of the original sender is preferably marked as the sender of the message.
• the method can, of course also be implemented in such a way that the telephone number of the original sender is marked as the sender and, if necessary, some other identifier can be included in the message, on the basis of which the recipient can identify the message as having come through the message group.
• addresses other than telephone numbers can form part of the transmission list.
• the message must be converted into a suitable form prior to transmission.
• these other addresses can be processed, for example, in connection with the carrying out of the method according to Figure 2.
• the examples described can also be adapted in such a way that the operations of the server 3 are carried out already in the short message service centre 2, so that the server 3 is not necessarily even required. In other ways too, the location or ownership of the server 3 are not of primary importance.
• the server 3 can be part of the telecommunications operator's system, in which case the telecommunications operator will provide the message-group service. On the other hand, the server 3 can equally well be in the possession of a service operator independent of the telecommunications operator.
• an interface is required, through which the definitions of the service can be operated.
• Such an interface can be, for example, a Web-based Internet interface.
• the founder of the message group can be connected to the server 3 through the Internet, for setting the addresses and other necessary definitions of the message group.
• definition rights can also be granted to other persons, for example, to all members of the group, either in full or limited, for example, to their own personal information.
• Corresponding operations, with certain restrictions, can also be implemented through a WAP interface.
• a second alternative for making settings is for the settings to be made by the service operator.
• the service operator can provide customers with, for example, a service number, which when called connects to service personnel for founding a group or altering settings.
• a third alternative for making settings is for the settings to be made through a telephone connection and DTMF signals.
• the subscriber calling the update telephone number is identified on the basis of their A number and the new definitions are received as DTMF signals.
• the group member When the group member wishes to join the transmission list again, they can be identified from the member list, after which their number is returned to the transmission list. If, on the other hand, it is wished to make the message-group service open to all, no separate member list is required, instead everyone attempting to connect to the transmission list can be accepted.
• a fourth alternative is to update settings with the aid of short messages.
• the disclosed DTMF alternative by reserving for each group its own updating telephone number, the settings of the service being altered with the aid of messages sent to it.
• open message groups which can be joined by simply sending a specified-form message to a given telephone number.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Accounting & Taxation (AREA)
• Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
• Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)
• Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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ID=8559848

Family Applications (1)

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Cited By (7)

Citations (2)

• 2000
  • 2000-12-29 FI FI20002893A patent/FI116260B/fi not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-12-27 WO PCT/FI2001/001153 patent/WO2002060199A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation

Patent Citations (2)

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